James L. King

January 29, 1935 - July 23, 2013

Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. on Friday, July 26, 2013 at Lakeside Baptist Church in Hoover, Alabama, for Mr. James L. King, age 78, of Pelham, Alabama. The family will receive visitors at 1 p.m. Friday at the church. Following the service, burial will be at Southern Heritage Cemetery, Pelham.

Mr. King passed away Tuesday morning, July 23, 2013. He was born in Pelham on January 29, 1935 and lived there all of his life. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1953 until his honorable discharge in 1957. After attending Auburn University and graduating from the University of Montevallo, Mr. King was an agent of the U.S. Department of Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, until his retirement in 1980. Afterward, he owned a private accounting practice and was a land developer and investor in Shelby County. Mr. King was a member of Lakeside Baptist Church, where he served as both a deacon and men's Sunday school teacher for many years. Throughout his adulthood, he served on the boards of numerous institutions, notably a hospital, local schools, a local bank, and the YMCA. He was active in state and local politics, chairing both the Democratic and the Republican parties of Shelby County. He also led an effort to acquire the land for and build Pelham High School and was chairman of its board of trustees for many years. He belonged to numerous civic groups and in particular was a long-time member of The Rotary Club.

Mr. King was preceded in death by his parents, Grady Hinds King and Alta Johnson King; and his sister, Daisy Elaine King. He is survived by his wife, Rose Marie; children and grandchildren, Stephen (Amy) King and their children, Matthew and Stewart, of Houston, Texas; Michael (Leah) King and their children, Caroline and Catherine of Westfield, New Jersey; Kathy (Paul) Dunbar and their children, Emily, Erin, Andrew and Joseph, of Huntsville, Alabama; Chris (Amelie Davis) King, of Oxford, Ohio; and Lara (Dan) Bell and their children, Emma Rose and Connor, of Johnson City, Tennessee; and special uncle, Pat Johnson of Sandston, Virginia.

The family would like to express gratitude to Mr. King's caregivers from ACTS 20:35, especially Whitney Jones for loving care she gave.

In lieu of flowers, memorials in Mr. King's honor may be made to the Parkinson's Foundation or the Michael J. Fox Foundation.